Sean Payton addresses his Nathaniel Hackett comments before facing Jets

Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton during the NFL combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As expected, Sean Payton’s comments about Nathaniel Hackett were a talking point in the leadup to Sunday’s Week 5 game between the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. This time, however, Payton is not adding any more fuel to the fire.

Payton made waves in preseason by ripping the job Hackett did as his predecessor while coaching the Broncos in 2022. Hackett, now the Jets’ offensive coordinator, took the high road in response, but it was inevitable that they would resurface ahead of this game.

Payton was inevitably asked about those comments on Friday, and he refused to get drawn into them again, calling the situation handled.

Sean Payton once more on the Hackett deal: “Yeah, listen, respectfully, I feel like I’ve addressed it. Robert (Saleh, Jets’ HC) did a great job talking about it. Here’s the thing, we’ve got two teams focused on getting their second win. That’s where our focus has been.” #9sports

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) October 6, 2023

“Yeah, listen, respectfully, I feel like I’ve addressed it,” Payton said. “Robert (Saleh, Jets’ HC) did a great job talking about it. Here’s the thing, we’ve got two teams focused on getting their second win. That’s where our focus has been.”

That focus is a big part of why Payton would not really want to address this any more than he has to. Aside from coming off as attacking a colleague, Payton’s Broncos have just one win and have not performed much better than Hackett’s iteration did. Until that changes, Payton is not really in a position to lecture anybody about the job they may be doing.